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UNIVERSITY PRESS OF SOUTHERN DENMARK

CONTENTS OF VOLUME 52

Frederik Kortlandt, 'Proto-Germanic Obstruents and the Com-parative Method'

Michel van der Hoek, 'The ońgin of Gothic hiri' . .

Elmer H. Antonsen,Second Syllables'

'Proto-Germanic Final l-al in

Norval Smith & Klaske van Leyden, 'The Unusual Outcomeof a Level-Stress Situation: The Case of Wursten Frisian'. . . .

Anatoly Liberman, 'AnAdditional Note on TautologicalCompounds'

Krzysztof Tomasz Witczak, 'ANew Look at the Etymologyof Germanic *lambaz'

.

Alfred Bammesberger, 'The Etymology of Germanic*idil. . . . .

W. Wilfried Schuhmacher, 'What TelI might TeIl Us'.

Jón Axel Haróarson,'Proto-Nordic xbidawarijaz' .

3

9

23

31

67

75

81

91

95

Reńew Articles:Hans Basboll, The Phorłology of Danish'

Reviewed by Anatoly Liberman. 101Robert Nedoma, Kleine Grammatik des Altislandischen.

2. Auflage. Reviewed by Michael Schulte. 118

ISBN 97 8-87 -7 67 4-192-1

Krzv sztof Tomas z Witczak

A NEW LOOK AT THE ETYMOLOGY OF GERMANIC*LAMBAZ

The etymology and the original meaning of the Germantcnoun*lam-baz are among the long-standing unresolved problems of historicallinguistics. The name is attested in almost all Germanic languageswith the same meaning'lamb, young of the sheep':l Goth. lamb, ON.lamb, IceL. lamb, Sav ed. lamm, OE. larnb, E. lamb, OSax. lamb, OT{G.

lamb, M}JG. lam( p ), G. Lamm, Dutch lam (I(uge-Seebold 2002:555).

Most linguists believe that no certain cognates are known outsideGermanic (Onions 1966:512; Hoad 1986:257; Room 2002:339), as theBalto-Fennic forms (cf. Finn. lammas, Vepsian lambas'lamb') wereadopted from North Germanic. This Germanic animal name differsfrom IE. +wlHen- m. 'lamb' and IE. *ag'nos (or better +ogh'nos) m. 'id.'.

The former name for'lamb', attested in Greek, Albanian, Armenian,and Indo-Iranian (Blaźek 1992:116-117), is lost in the North-WestIndo-European languages, including Germanic, whereas the latter hasbeen attested in the Nońh-West branch of the Indo-European languagefamily, namely in Celtic, Italic, Baltic, Slavonic (Blaźek 1996; cf. alsoBlaźek 1992:111-112), and residually in Germanic (cf. obs. E. ean-ling'a newborn lamb', yean'lamrnen'). Some researchers conclude thatGermanic +lambaz has no convincing etymology (so Skeat 1963:.327:

'root unknown'), others cite a number of possible explanations (Feist19232 :240 -24I, !9393 :321 ; Lehmann 1986:226).

In his dissertation on Indo-European animal names, Eugene Gottlieb(1931:14) explains this situation as follows;

ON, Goth., OHG latnb < +l-on-bho-s was originally masculine; later, mostprobably under the influence of Kalb'calf , it became neuter. The _ó (in

Iamb) is an animal name formans. Finn. larnmas 'lamb' is a borrowingfrom G[ermani]c..

He derives Germanic *lamba? from IE. *el-, + el-en''deer-like (horned)

animal', cf. Toch. Aycil'gaze|le', Arm. ełn'deet'; Gk. ś}'ocpog m. 'deer',

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dimin. ć}"}"óq'fawn' ; Lith. ćlnis'deer'; old Church Slavonic elenb' deer',cf. also Scythian dpovrg 'deer' (attested in Hesychios's glossary). Thesame et)rrnology is repeated in several etymological and comparativedictionaries (Feist 19232 :24I, 19393: 32 1 ; Lehmann 1986.'226; Adams-Mallory 1997:754; Kluge-Seebold2002:555), but it seems to be wrong fora number of reasons. Firstly, the change of 'deer or deer-like (horned)animal' to 'lamb; young of the sheep' is implausible. I know of no com-parable examples documenting such a change, though the oppositeprocess has been attested in some Indo-European languages (e.g. W.ewig'doe' and oCorn. euhig gL cerva < Brittonic *owl'łła f. 'doe, hind'< Celtic *olłis'ewe', cf. olr. oi f.'id'',Lat. ouis, olnd. dui- <IE. *ówis

f. 'sheep, ewe'). Secondly, if Germanic *lambaz is related to Greekś}"ocpog (<IE. *elry-bho-s), then two phonological differences remainunexplained (namely, the loss of the initial vowel and the introductionof the full apophonic o-grade). Thirdly, a new etymology, which betterexplains the derivational and semantic aspects, can be suggested.

The Indo-European sufflx*-bho- appears in numerous names of wildanimals (Brugmann 1970:331), cf. Gk. ś}"ocpog m. 'deer' (< IE. *elry-

in general' (<IE. *;sn-bho-s <IE' *1sen-'male'), cf. Gk. śpoqv 'male',Arnt. ain'he-lamb' (Greppin 1981:71). This suffix seems to represent aNostratic heritage (Illić-Svityć I97 I:L92-193; Blażek 1989:202). Thus'the Germanic animal name *lambaz, with its presumably archaic suffix*-ba- (<IE. *-bho-), seems to have referred originally to a wild animalrather than the young domesticated sheep.

I believe that Germanic *lam-ba-z (m.)'lamb' derives originallyfrom the root *lon-'wild sheep', especially 'European mouflon, Ouismusimon L.', not from *el-en- 'deer'. The root *lon- has been attestedin the following five subgroups of the Indo-European family:

1. INDIC: Skt. rańhuh (m.) 'a species of deer or antelope' , rańkulzah'id.' (Monier-Williams 1999:860); Nepali 16,9o'buffdo bull' (Turner7966:532).It goes back to Indic *ranlłu- andlB. *lon-łłu-.

2. DARDIC: łświreć'castrated goat' (Turner 1966:532). It derivesfrom Dardic *ranlłu- (<IE. *lon-lłu-).

3. IRANIAN: NPers. rang,reng 'wild mountainous sheep /Bergschaf(Horn 1893;139). It represents Iran. *ranhu- (<IE. *lon-ku-).

4. CELTIC: OIr. lon (m.) 'deer', MIr. lon'ram, wether / Widder,SchÓps' (Pokorny 1959:681), NIr. loz 'wether' (Greppin 798I:70,fn.2),

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THE ETI'I\4OLOGY OF GERMANTC *LAMBAZ

and Scottish Gaelic lon rn.'elk / Elentier' (Pokorny 1959:304; MacBain7998:232) go back to Celtic *lon-o-s (m. o-stem). Pokorny (1959:681)

unconvincingly separates MIr. lon'ram, wether' from Scottish Gaeliclon m.'elk' and derives it from Celtic *lurłos m. 'a gelded animal' andfurther from IE. *leu-'abschneiden, trennen, loslÓsen''

5. BALTIC: OPrus. lonix EY 670 'young bull / junger Stier, Bulle'.The origin of the Old Prussian word in question is unclear. MostIinguists accept the suggestion that the correct form is *ionix (notlonix), which was perhaps borrowed from the Slavonic animal name*juntcr'young bull'.

The lexical material demonstrates that the above-mentioned namesare etymologically related. The primitive shape of the Indo-Europeanroot'klon- may be reconstructed on the basis of the Celtic data (e.g. theroot o-vocalism, the liquid l- in the initial position, etc.). The Germanicform +lambclz goes back to *lon-, exterlded by the suffix *-óń.o-. Also,Indo-Iranian *ranłłu- may contain the suffix *-ku- added to the root+lon- (the development of IE. {-l to Indo-Iranian *r, as well as the so

called monovocalism, is regular). The Old Prussian name for'youngbull'is debatable.

The attested reflexes demonstrate a broad dispersion of the mean-ings: 'lamb', 'ram, wether', 'wild mountainous sheep', 'castrated goat',

'young bull', 'buffalo bull', 'deer', 'elk', 'a species of deer or antelope'.Four semantemes refer to the domesticated animals ('lamb', 'ram,wether', 'castrated goat', 'young bull'), and five to the wild species('wild mountainous sheep', 'buffalo bull','deer', 'elk', 'a species of deeror antelope'). Is it then possible to define the original meaning of theIndo-Europe an *lon- on the basis of the afore-mentioned reflexes andto reconstruct the primitive meaning of the Germanic name for'lamb'?I believe it is.

The original meaning may be determined on the basis of the Indo-Iranian and Celtic forms. Four meanings have been attested in Indo-Iranian ('a species of deer or antelope', 'buffalo bull', 'castrated goat',

'wild mountainous sheep'), the last of them being not too different fromthe Germanic one ('lamb'). Also the Goidelic languages demonstrate asemantic dualism ('deer', 'elk' vs. 'ram, wether'), here, too, the secondmeaningis similar to Germanic xlarubaz. Apparently, the Indo-Europe-an root *lon- denoted originally 'a species of the wild sheep', prob-

ably 'European mouflon, Ouis musimon L.' or 'Asiatic mouflon, Ouis

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orientalis L.'. In the late Stone Age, the mouflon, the ancestor of thedomestic sheep, was still common in the forested plains and mountainsof Central and Southern Europe, as well as in the British Isles andsouthern Scandinavia. At present, its natural range is restricted to theMediterranean region (Corsica, Sardinia, Cyprus) and the Near East(Dobroruka 1998:166). The Indo-European tribes treated the mouflonas a wild species of sheep.

My hypothesis explains the observed dispersion of meanings. TheIranians must have preserved the original meaning (cf. NPers. rozg,reng'wildmountainous sheep'), whereas the Indo-Aryans, who settledin different southern regions, transferred *ranhu- (<IE. *lon-ku-) toother wild or domesticated species. If the Proto-Celts used originallythe term *lonos to denote 'European mouflon, Ouis musimon L.' (i.e.

the ancestor of the domesticated sheep), then the semantic changesobserved in Goidelic are easy to explain: after the extermination of wildsheep in the British Isles, the Irish tribes transferred the name *lonos

to the domesticated species of sheep (MIr., NIr. lon 'ram, wether'),the Scots to the wild species of the even-hoofed mammals, namely, tothe cervids (Scottish Gaelic lon'elk'). The Germanic tribes preserwedthe original term *lon-bho-s (presumably 'young of the wild sheep') inthe almost unchanged sense 'lamb, young of the domesticated sheep'.Since the wild species of sheep in Scandinavia was exterminated inthe early historical times, the Proto-Germanic term*lqmbazbegantodenote 'young of the domesticated sheep', and replaced the primitiverlame *ąunaz'lamb' (<IE. *ogh.nos, cf. olr. ńan,It. uan,Manxeayn,W. oen,Bret. oąn'lamb' < Celtic *ognos), whose traces are still seen inthe Proto-Germanic verb'kaun(o)ian'to yean': OE. Eanian,E. yean,tobring forth lambs', WFris. eandje, Du. dial. oonen 'to yean' (Pokorny1959:9; Hoad 1986:549; Room 2002:686) and in the derivative nounean-ling'newborn lamb', attested in Shakespeare (Skeat Ig63:7 27 -7 28;Onions 1979:1019).

It is not improbable that Germanic *lambaz denoted originally notonly'young of the wild sheep'but also 'young lamb born by crossbreed-ing of the domesticated and wild sheep'. Pliny the Elder (Nat. Hist.VIII, 199) states that the crossbreeding of the European mouflon (Lat.musmon) and the domesticated sheep (Lat. ouis) was common in Spainand especially in Corsica (Est irł Hispania, sed maxime Corsica, nonabsimile pecori genus musmonum, caprino uillo quam pecoris uelleri

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TIIE ET\MOLOGY OF GERMANIC +LAMBAZ

proprius, quorunx e genere et ouibus natos prisci umbros uocauerunt).

Additionally, he informs us that the ancient Romans used formerlythe name umber (gen. sg. umbrl) for expressing 'variótó de moutonprovenant du croisement entre mouflon et brebis' (Andrei 1981:115).

Crossbreeding may also have been widespread in Italy. I believe thatsimilar practice was also known in ancient times in the area of Europe,from which Germanic speakers originated.

Departntent of Linguistics and Indo-Europearu StudiesUniuersity of ŁódźUI. Lipowa 81PL-90-568 Łódź

Note

1. Abbreviations: Arm. - Armenian, Bret. - Bretonic, Du. - Dutch, E.

- English, Finn. - Finnish, Goth. - Gothic, Gk. - Greek, Icel. - Icelandic,IE. - Indo-European, Lat. - Latin, Lith. - Lithuanian, m. - masculine,MHG. - Middle High German, MIr. - Middle lrish, NIr. - New Irish,NPers. - New Persian, obs. - obsolete, OCorn. - Old Cornish, OE. - OldEnglish, OHG. - Old High German, OInd. - Old Indic, OIr. - Old Irish,ON. - Old Norse, OPruss. - Old Prussian, OSax. - Old Saxonian, Skt.

- Sanskrit, Swed. - Swedish, Toch. - Tocharian, W. - Welsh, WFris.

- West Frisian.

References

Adams, D.Q. and Mallory, J.P. 1997. 'Deer'. Encyclopedia of Indo-EuropeanCulture. Eds. J.P. Mallory, D.Q. Adams. London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dear-born Publishers.

Andrei, S. 1981. Aspects du uocabulaire agricole latin. Roma: "L'Erma" diBretschneider.

Blażek, V. 1989. 'Lexica Nostratica: Addenda et CorrigetdaI'' Archiu orien'tćllni 57:20I-210.

Blaźek, V. 1992. Historickó anallza indoeuropshć zoologickó terminologie:

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souci [Historical Analysis of the Indo-European ZoologtcalTerminology:Mammals]. Brno: Filosofickó fakulta Masarykor,y University (unpub]ishedPh. Dr. dissertation).

Blażek, V. 1996. 'Indo-European ''lamb'''. Sbornih praci Filosofi,chć fałłultybrruŻnskć uniuersity, A 44:9-13.

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Greppin, J. A. C. 1981. 'Gk. pLoll.óq "fleece, lock of wool'''. Glotta 59:70-75.Hoad, T.F. 1986. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Ox-

ford: Oxford University Press.Horn, P. L893. GrundriB der neupersischen Etymologie. StraBburg: Karl J.

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Moscow: 'Nauka'.Kluge, F. and Seebold, E. 2002. Etymologisches Wirterbuch der deutschen

Sprache. Bearbeitet von E. Seebold, 24., durchgesehene und erweiterteAuflage. Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter.

Lehmann, W.P. 1986. A Gothic Etymological Dictionary. Leiden: E.J. Brill.MacBain, A. 1998. The Etymological Dictionary of Scottish-Gaellc. New York:

Hippocene Books. (Reprinted from the second edition in 1896.)Monier-Williams, M. 1999. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal

Banarsidass Publishers. (First published in 1899 in Oxford.)Onions, C.T. 1979. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Oxford:

Oxford University Press. (First published in 1966.)Pokorny, J. 1959. Indogermanisches etymologisches Wórterbuch. Bern,

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Oxford: Oxford University Press.Turner, R.L. 1966. A Cornparatiue Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages.

London: Oxford University Press.Witczak, K.T. 2003. 'New Evidence for the Indo-European Terminology for

"sheep"'. Lingua Posnaniensis 45:143-750.

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